Gili Islands Blog

Just a short 2 hour boat trip from Bali, on the northwest corner of Lombok, the Gili islands are three idyllic atolls where the beaches are still powdery white, the water a beautifull clear blue, with sunsets over Bali’s Mt Agung and sunrise over Lombok’s Mt Rinjani.

Home to the largest Irish bar on the smallest island in the world, a real Japanese sushi restaurant, 2 turtle hatcheries, 20 world class dive sites like ‘Manta Point’ and empty white sandy beaches, Lombok’s Gili islands  are becoming increasingly more popular.

Gili Air
Some would say the original backpacker Gili destination , even now still relatively untouched, a few new bar shacks have appeared on the beach, with accommodation slowly catching up with the other islands.

Gili Meno
The island lies directly in line in the middle of the other Gilis of Trawangan and Air, both only separated by 1 Km or so of water, it is by far the quietest most undeveloped natural island of the 3 islands. The only Gili island with a salt water lake, a bird park with a Beatles memorabilia bar, with some cool places to stay like Shack 58

Gili Trawangan
The largest of the Gilis and now by far the most popular to visit, accommodation choices start from backpacker and budget hotels, an increasing selection of mid range hotels, two resort style hotels and some luxury villas.
Many new international restaurants offering everything from Pizza,  to Indian food and Spanish Tapas, and of course a definate must is the seafood BBQ’s all along the beach front.
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GILI AIR

Gili meaning a small island in Bahasa Indonesia, and Air meaning water, tharefore; a small island surrounded by water.

Some would say the original backpacker Gili destination , even now still relatively untouched, a few new bar shacks have appeared on the beach, with the least accommodation compared with the other Gili islands of Trawangan and Meno

Accommodation options vary from basic backpacker homestays and beach shacks, the Gili Air Hotel is the only mid range option with rooms to suit groups and families, and the new Sejuk Cottages with some funky traditional Sasak styled bungalows in various styles, sizes and shapes.

There are now 3 PADI Dive Centres -  Manta dive (offers SSI training as well), Blue Marlin and Dream Divers. Also home to my favourite dive site, Hahn’s Reef, where strange critters and muck diving are the norm, it is also a superb training site for beginners. The other great spot for diving and snorkelling is Gili Air Wall where you can see anything from turtles to pygmy sea horses, quite amazing.

Go and see an untouched and unspoilt Gili Paradise island, relax, admire the sunrise behind the great volcano Mount Rinjani, see the sunset over the other Gili islands and you will find it hard to beleive you are actually in the 21st century.

GILI MENO

The island lies directly in line in the middle of the other Gilis of Trawangan and Air, both only separated by 1 Km or so of water, it is by far the quietest most undeveloped natural island of the three. The only Gili island with a salt water lake, a bird park with a Beatles memorabilia bar and the only pool table on the entire Gili islands.

Gili Meno accommodation ranges from beach shacks like Malia’s Child and other budget options like Tao Combo travel lodge. Mid range to higher end are the highly reccommended super cool Shack 58 and also Villa Nautilus .

Dive and snorkelling spots include the infamous Gili Meno wall, where during the day turtles freely swim by, huge Gorgonion fans hang, and the many species of colourfull corals. By night see turtles sleeping, huge moray eels running up and down the wall, and the friendly and entertaining spanish dancers.
Further along you reach Meno slope, home to the extraordinary blue ringed octopus, a large sandy area of blue spotted stingrays and schools of batfish, including juveniles. Keep going further and finish on the new area of  Bio Rocks,  just recently installed ( February 2008) they are uniquely shaped into an aeroplane, tunnels and domes, these will be the new home to many varieties of corals and marine life.

Gili Trawangan

The largest of the Gilis and now by far the most popular to visit, accommodation choices start from backpacker and budget hotels, a large selection of mid range hotels, through to resort style hotels and luxury villas.
Many new international restaurants offering everything from Pizza, to Sushi to Indian food and Spanish Tapas, and of course the seafood BBQ’s all along the beach front.

There are 6 PADI dive centres, 12 artifical Bio Rock projects, a turtle sanctuary and snorkeling accssess from the beach all around the island.